Hyperlipidaemia is a major cause of atherosclerosis and related CVD and can be prevented with natural substances. Previously, we reported that a novel Bacillus-fermented green tea (FGT) exerts anti-obesity and hypolipidaemic effects. This study further investigated the hypotriglyceridaemic and anti-obesogenic effects of FGT and its underlying mechanisms. FGT effectively inhibited pancreatic lipase activity in vitro (IC50, 0·48 mg/ml) and ameliorated postprandial lipaemia in rats (26 % reduction with 500 mg/kg FGT). In hypertriglyceridaemic hamsters, FGT administration significantly reduced plasma TAG levels. In mice, FGT administration (500 mg/kg) for 2 weeks augmented energy expenditure by 22 % through the induction of plasma serotonin, a neurotransmitter that modulates energy expenditure and mRNA expressions of lipid metabolism genes in peripheral tissues. Analysis of the gut microbiota showed that FGT reduced the proportion of the phylum Firmicutes in hamsters, which could further contribute to its anti-obesity effects. Collectively, these data demonstrate that FGT decreases plasma TAG levels via multiple mechanisms including inhibition of pancreatic lipase, augmentation of energy expenditure, induction of serotonin secretion and alteration of gut microbiota. These results suggest that FGT may be a useful natural agent for preventing hypertriglyceridaemia and obesity.

This study reports the earliest known reef-building anthaspidellid sponge, Rankenella zhangxianensis n. sp., from the Cambrian Series 3 (late Stage 5–early Guzhangian) deposit of the Zhangxia Formation, Shandong Province, China. Rankenella zhangxianensis mostly occurs within Epiphyton-Rankenella-Cambroctoconus reefs, with minor occurrence from inter-reef grainstone. The species has anthaspidellid-type regular ladderlike spicule networks consisting of dendroclones and trabs, and is characterized by trabs parallel/subparallel to the gastral surface that diverge and meet the dermal surface, which is typical of the genus. Compared to R. mors and R. hamdii, reported from the late Cambrian Series 2–late Cambrian Series 3 of Australia and the late Cambrian Series 3–early Furongian of Iran, respectively, R. zhangxianensis is characterized by a relatively thicker wall, high angle (~90°) between dermal surfaces and intersecting trabs, and minor occurrence of differentiated canals. On the other hand, R. zhangxianensis mainly shows obconical shape, which is far less diverse than the other two species showing conicocylindrical, digitate, explanate, or bowl shapes. These Cambrian Series 3 reefs from China are the ancestors of the Furongian anthaspidellid-microbial reefs and the Early Ordovician anthaspidellid-microbial reefs that flourished worldwide. They represent the resurgence of reef-building metazoans after the extinction of archaeocyaths at the end of Cambrian Series 2.

We report on the formation of highly flexible and transparent TiO2/Ag/ITO multilayer films deposited on polyethylene terephthalate substrates. The optical and electrical properties of the multilayer films were investigated as a function of oxide thickness. The transmission window gradually shifted toward lower energies with increasing oxide thickness. The TiO2 (40 nm)/Ag (18 nm)/ITO (40 nm) films gave the transmittance of 93.1% at 560 nm. The relationship between transmittance and oxide thickness was simulated using the scattering matrix method to understand high transmittance. As the oxide thickness increased from 20 to 50 nm, the carrier concentration gradually decreased from 1.08 × 1022 to 6.66 × 1021 cm−3, while the sheet resistance varied from 5.8 to 6.1 Ω/sq. Haacke's figure of merit reached a maximum at 40 nm and then decreased with increasing oxide thickness. The change in resistance for the 60 nm-thick ITO single film rapidly increased with increasing bending cycles, while that of the TiO2/Ag/ITO (40 nm/18 nm/40 nm) film remained virtually unchanged during the bending test.

Stream restoration is an important process affecting the ecological health of stream ecosystems. There have been numerous cases of restoration, dealing with either structural or biological changes. In Korea, most restoration projects have merely dealt with improving hydrological characteristics or water quality; however, in recent years the improvement of ecological characteristics has been an increasing focus for restoration projects. In this study, we utilized data collected from 5675 stream sites in May 2007 to discover general patterns of anthropogenic modification in Korean streams. The survey results after application of the stream modification index (SMI; presence or absence type; high scores indicate more disturbed) provided a general distribution of disturbed/undisturbed streams or rivers in the watershed. We then compared the level of modification with the socio-geographical patterns (population, land coverage, elevation, and slope) for the watershed. The results show that streams in highly populated areas suffered from human modification compared with other well-preserved stream sites. In metropolitan cities, urbanized areas had positive relationship as identified by a high SMI. On the other hand, agricultural land cover identified an SMI increase for lowland river area. In general, mountainous streams possessed a better status in stream morphology due to different land-cover patterns (i.e., mainly forested area); however, some mountainous areas were impacted by concentrated summer rainfall. We could distinguish the forcing variables (i.e., land use pattern) for the disturbed streams through a comparison between the SMI and geographical information; the SMI application was able to identify areas of high necessity for restoration.

Despite numerous previous studies, relationships between watershed land use and adjacent streams and rivers at various scales in Korea remain unclear. This study investigated the relationships between land uses and the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of 720 sites of streams and rivers across the country. The land uses at two spatial scales, including a 1-km buffer and the base watershed management region (BWMR), were computed in a geographical information system (GIS) with a digital land use/land cover map. Characteristics of land uses at two spatial scales were then correlated with the monitored multidimensional characteristics of the streams and rivers. The results of this study indicate that land use types have significant effects on stream and river characteristics. Specifically, most characteristics were negatively correlated with the proportions of urban, rice paddy, agricultural, and bare soil areas and positively correlated with the amount of forest. The site-scale and BWMR-scale analyses suggest that BWMR land use patterns were more strongly related to ecological integrity than they were to site land use patterns. Improving our understanding of land use effects will largely depend on relating the results of site-specific studies that use similar response techniques and measures to evaluate ecological integrity. In addition, our results clearly indicate that the characteristics of streams and rivers are closely linked and that land use types differentially affect those characteristics. Thus, effective restoration and management for ecological integrity of lotic system should consider the physical, chemical, and biological factors in combination.

The Ni silicide-mediated phase transformation of amorphous to crystalline silicon (c-Si) was studied using transmission electron microscopy. Amorphous silicon (a-Si) films coated with very thin Ni layer (∼10-1Å) were annealed at various temperatures. Randomly oriented NiSi2 precipitates were observed in the Ni deposited a-Si film annealed at 400°C. The nucleation of the epitaxial c-Si has occurred on the {111} faces of the octahedral NiSi2 precipitate at 430°C and then caused to the variation in the shape of the NiSi2 precipitates. During the growth of c-Si, the needle-like morphology developed from the migration of NiSi2 precipitates through the a-Si matrix leaving a trail of c-Si. The collision of a migrating NiSi2 precipitate with a stationary NiSi2 precipitates in the a-Si film gave rise to the change in the morphology of the growing Si grain and the formation of additional c-Si needles on variants of the <111> direction.

Superoxide dismutase has been known to play a role as an anti – oxidative system against oxidative injury during acute inflammation. To investigate the role of superoxide dismutase in eustachian tubal mucosa during acute otitis media (AOM), an animal model was made. Sprague – Dawley rats were inoculated with Streptococcus pneumoniae through the nasal cavity following development of virus – induced upper respiratory infection. The animals were divided into three groups according to their tympanic cavity conditions following bacterial inoculation; inoculated animals with no resultant AOM (no – AOM), animals with resultant AOM (AOM) and animals with resolving otitis media (recovery). The changes of superoxide dismutase in each tubal mucosa were compared with that of the normal control using immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting methods. On Western blot, there were little changes of optical density and surface area in no-AOM (213.5. ± .22.4, 13.2. ± .0.8.mm2) and recovery group (219.3. ± .18.7, 14.8. ± .0.7 mm2) compared to the normal control (223.5 ± 26.2, 16.7 ± 0.4 mm2). However, a marked decrease was found in the AOM model (167.6. ± .19.3, 6.5. ± .0.9 mm2). These findings suggest that superoxide dismutase may play a role in protecting tubal mucosa from free radical injury during AOM.

The cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) specimens of Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si, RuO2/SiO2/Si, W/TiN/SiO2/Si, (Pb,La)TiO3/Pt/MgO, Bi4Ti3O12/Lal-xCaxMnO3/MgO, and GaN/Al2O3 were successfully made by the rocking-angle ion-milling technique. The differential thinning problems could be effectively mitigated when the rocking-angle and the ion-beam incidence angle were optimized for each heterostructure. It was found that the sputtering yield ratio between the layer milled most quickly and the layer milled most slowly is one of the important factors which determine the optimum rocking-angle ion-milling condition. The atomic force microscopy study on the surface topography of the cross-sectional Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si TEM sample after ion-milling provided quantitative information about the effects of the rocking-angle variation. A parameter which is the ratio between the layer with a minimum electron transparency and the layer with a maximum electron transparency was suggested.

The electrical resistivity property of RuO2 thin films grown on the SiO2/Si substrate by reactive dc sputtering was examined in terms of microstructure using x-ray diffraction and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. As the samples were annealed in the oxygen ambient over the temperature range 300–700 °C, the resistivity decreased from 270 to 90 μΩcm with increasing annealing temperature. When heat treatment was performed below 500 °C, the strain which accumulated in the RuO2 layer during deposition was released without significant increase in grain size. It is thought that below 500 °C improvement in the crystallinity plays an important role in the variation of the resistivity. Although a considerable amount of growth of RuO2 grains was achieved, the columnar structure of the RuO2 layer in the as-deposited sample remained unchanged even after annealing at 700 °C. The resistivity improvement above 500 °C was driven mainly by the grain boundary annihilation.

Microstructures and interdiffusions of Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si and RuO2/SiO2/Si during annealing in O2 were investigated using x-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The degree of oxidation and the interdiffusion of elements have remarkably increased with increasing temperature above 500 °C for the Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si case. The generation of Pt hillocks commenced at 500 °C. The Pt-silicide phase was also observed near the TiOx/SiO2 interface. The microstructural variations occurred to only a small amount for the RuO2/SiO2/Si case over the temperature range 300 – 700 °C. While there was no hillock formation, the RuO2 film surface was roughened by the thermal grooving phenomenon. A thin interlayer phase was found at the RuO2/SiO2 interface.

The microstructural variation and the interdiffusion of Pt (80 nm)/Ti (70 nm)/SiO2/Si during annealing in O2 were investigated using Auger electron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. While the as-deposited and 400 °C annealed samples showed well-defined layer structures without any significant interfacial reaction, the degree of oxidation remarkably increased with increasing temperature above 500 °C. The PtTi alloy phase with Pmma structure (AuCd type) was observed from the 500 °C annealed sample. Drastic interdiffusion occurring above 600 °C changed the Pt/Ti bilayer into a very entangled structure. Some TiO2 phases were exposed to the ambient between Pt hillocks. In addition, a small amount of Pt-silicide was found near the TiOx/SiO2 interface.

The hydrogenation effect was studied in the fabrication of amorphous silicon thin film transistor using APCVD technique. The inverse staggered type a-Si TFTs were fabricated with the deposited a-Si and SiO2 films by the atmospheric pressure (AP) CVD. The field effect mobility of the fabricated a-Si TFT is 0.79 cm2/Vs and threshold voltage is 5.4V after post hydrogenation. These results can be applied to make low cost a-Si TFT array using an in-line APCVD system.

We have studied the preparation and device application of a-Si by atmospheric pressure CVD using disilane. The deposition rate of a-Si increases with the partial pressure of disilane and with the total pressure. The deposition rate of APCVD a-Si is, therefore, very high compared with LPCVD. The photosensitivity of APCVD a-Si is 104 at 100mW/cm2. We have made an inverse staggered type a-Si TFT using SiO2 as a gate insulator. The on/off current ratio and field effect mobility are 105 and 0.19cm2/Vs, respectively.